Metal Halide Fixture (Hamilton Era)
Hamilton Technology
High-intensity discharge lamps in reef fixtures (Hamilton's Cebu Sun line is the archetype), running 150–1,000 W bulbs from yellow 6,500K to deep blue 20,000K over the serious reefs of the 1990s and 2000s.
Why it mattered
Mid-1980s keepers were wiring DIY halide kits from industrial parts. By the mid-1990s, purpose-built fixtures from makers like Hamilton made halide light a product, and CORAL Magazine's assessment was that it was used successfully in just about every reef tank application.
Halides gave the hobby its first truly coral-grade light: a point source with real punch at depth, glitter lines dancing across the sand, and spectra that let SPS keepers chase color with 10,000K, 14,000K, and 20,000K bulbs.
The costs were heat, power, and yearly bulb swaps. LEDs took the market on exactly those three points. Halide survives as a connoisseur's choice, kept alive by keepers who maintain nothing grows coral quite the same way.
Key specs
- 150–1,000 W single- and double-ended bulbs
- Color temperatures roughly 6,500K–20,000K
- Point-source light with natural shimmer (glitter lines)
- Bulbs typically replaced every 9–12 months
- Significant heat output; chillers common on halide tanks
Keeper notes
- Long-time SPS keepers still credit halides with growth and coloration they have not fully matched under LED.
- Others are just as firm that modern LEDs equal the results without the heat and bulb bills.
- Used Hamilton fixtures and reflectors remain in demand among halide loyalists.